I've bought two pairs of these and will soon be buying a third. I wear them almost every day. When you first receive them they are shiny enough to look like dress shoes for the office - most my coworkers are not even aware these are boots. Once the shine wears off after about 3 months I wear them casually with dark jeans when I go out and they look great. The only downside is if you wear them a lot, the rubber on the sole wears off exposing the wood in the sole, but this only happens after about 6 months of steady wear (and I tend to drag my heels). I really wish these were offered in dark brown also!